---
title: "HOST-FS-001 Sensitive Account Files Have Unsafe Permissions"
canonical: https://openvapt.com/checks/HOST-FS-001.html
html: https://openvapt.com/checks/HOST-FS-001.html
site: OpenVAPT, https://openvapt.com/
license: OpenVAPT Source-Available Licence 1.3, https://openvapt.com/legal/licence-text.html
modified: 2026-10-14
version: 0.1.0-alpha.6
---

# HOST-FS-001 Sensitive Account Files Have Unsafe Permissions

Checks that /etc/shadow and /etc/gshadow are not readable by others, and /etc/passwd and /etc/group are not writable by others.

- Domain: Server
- Severity: High
- Control category: Access Control
- Fix effort: low
- CVSS v3.1 vector: `CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N`
- CIS Controls v8: 3.3
- NIST CSF 2.0: PR.AA-05, PR.DS-01
- CWE: CWE-732
- NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5: AC-3, AC-6
- Benchmark topic: File permissions: account database files (topic only, no benchmark text)

## Why It Matters

Readable shadow files let any local user (or a compromised web app) copy password hashes and crack them offline. Writable passwd/group files let them create a root account.

## How It Detects

Stats each file without reading its contents and inspects the permission bits for 'other' and 'group' access.

## How to Fix

chown root:root /etc/passwd /etc/group && chmod 644 /etc/passwd /etc/group ; chown root:shadow /etc/shadow /etc/gshadow && chmod 640 /etc/shadow /etc/gshadow  (use root:root and 000 on RHEL-family systems).

## How to Verify

```
stat -c '%a %U:%G %n' /etc/passwd /etc/group /etc/shadow /etc/gshadow
```

## Learn the Theory

- [P1 Linux Server Hardening](https://openvapt.com/academy/p1.md)
- [P15 Access Control: Accounts, Sudo and Logins](https://openvapt.com/academy/p15.md)

## References

- [shadow(5), Linux man-pages](https://man7.org/linux/man-pages/man5/shadow.5.html)
- [NIST SP 800-123, Guide to General Server Security](https://csrc.nist.gov/pubs/sp/800/123/final)

## Source Code

https://github.com/OpenVAPT/openvapt/blob/574f7f3333c44b75a3c649e2d93a76d507f75adf/internal/checks/host/files.go

Run it: `openvapt scan --only HOST-FS-001`. Read it offline: `openvapt explain HOST-FS-001`.

---

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